Plastic trash bags have long been used to line trash receptacles. The trash bags encourage sanitary conditions by preventing the refuse from contacting the receptacle. Trash bags also provide a convenient way to remove trash from a receptacle for transport or disposal.
When trash bags are used to line a receptacle, they are most often folded around the rim of the receptacle. Thus, the upper portions of the bag are often visible on the upper part of the receptacle, which may be aesthetically unpleasant. A further problem associated with arranging trash bags around a receptacle rim is that a user often does not know how much of the trash bag should be folded over the rim. If too little bag is folded over the rim, the bag could slip off the rim and back into the receptacle when the bag receives refuse. If too much bag is folded over the rim, the full volume of the receptacle may not be utilized.
A further limitation of many known trash bags is presented by the fact that most users grip a bag by the top of the bag. This places increased stress on a bag at the rim and may cause bag failures to initiate at the bag rim. This problem is particularly acute with drawstring type bags, as the hem of the bag is subject to increased stresses by a user-manipulated drawstring.